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Drag Car

tarafied1

Well-Known Member
I originally bought a 67 coupe from John to make a drag car. Some here contributed parts (which I still have). The car was rust free but had been rear-ended hard and needed a lot of work. When my friend kept bugging me to sell it (he did a fastback roof swap and made an Eleanor out of it), I thought I would find a better car. I found a 64 Falcon. It was pretty solid but needed a lot of parts. I bought a 65 coupe parts car that I thought would be a better car so I sold the Falcon to Joey (he still has it). The 65 needed front frame rails. So i sectioned in a 68 front clip from the fastback my friend had cut the roof off of. Then that same friend offered me a 65 Fastback and coupe parts car that I thought would be even better so I sold the FrankenStang 65/68 car and focused on the new 65. But still a pretty big project just to get a solid platform. So when Jeff was hunting for a fastback project we struck a deal and I will deliver it to him this week.
So having said all that, I am focused on finding a car that will not require any bodywork or major structural repair. I have the drivetrian mostly gathered up. I have a Currie 31 spline 9" rear from BobV that came out of his Saleen (I traded an 8.8 for it), a rebuilt 94 Cobra shortblock with a E303 cam and lots of hipo top end goodies like ported heads with big valve and roller rockers, etc. Mallory electronic ignition distributor, Holley 650 and intake. I have a T5 from Bill that is out of a 94 also (needs to be rebuilt) and a C4. I even have an AOD and a 4R70W doner for the guts to put into the AOD. I have all the parts to put a front sump on the 5.0 from a 289 and of course it is setup now as a rear sump from the 94. All three transmission will fit about any Ford body. The rear is set up for a Fox or SN95.
So my best option would be a Fox body as nearly everything will bolt in and they are cheap as well as light. An SN95 would work too, I V6 with the 3.8 is basically a sawed off 302 so the 5.0 would fit all the way up to a 2004. The engine is in fact from an SN95 (94 Cobra) and I have the remote oil cooler, motor mounts, underdrive pulleys, etc. I have long tube headers for a 65 that may fit a fox or SN95(?).
But I really like classic cars better. I just can't seam to find one I can afford that I could drop the drivetrain into.
What to do...
 
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i have found tons of Fox body Stangs for under a grand. I can even find several already set up as drag cars for a few thousand. I like the Fox body Stangs alright. I have had a few over the years. But I have found a few S197's 05-09's for under $3K, which would be cool. But none of my go fast goodies will work. I am also not a huge fan of Mod Motors. They huge but small at the same time!
I have one son with a Bobcat (Pinto) with e 2.3 that we built. It's cool but not my cup of tea. The other son took over my wife's 99 and we are in the process of building a 4 cam 4.6 together for it. While i will admit its a cool engine, they are crazy expensive to build.
I really like my 429 and my 67. My wife just freaks out every time I mention taking it to the track. It doesn't help that I have a few local racing buddies and one of them crammed his 2016 into the wall the last time we went racing. He was running in the 11's. He just bought it, had a supercharger installed and a week later he totaled it on his 3rd pass of the day.
So that is the reason I am looking for a relatively cheap or should I say expendable car to satisfy my need for speed. And the longer it takes me to build something, the more times I run my 67 down the track and the more I risk living in the back yard if I wreck it!
 
Mark in Iowa has a race car, it has never run, and may let it go cheap...
 
Let me know, I'll send you some pictures of it, make an offer. My broke ass needs mortgage money.
I'm interested if it doesn't need major surgery. I think that has been the thing keeping me from finishing one. I always get a car that requires a lot of work just to make it solid foundation. The one I sold Jeff is solid except I would have needed to finish a roof swap. I probably should have just sold the roof and kept the coupe! But yeah, you can post pics here or email me, my address: craig.borden@novelis.com
 
I think you are looking at this incorrectly. If you want to make a real drag car, you need to do some serious "foundation" work anyway with a classic. To make the chassis rigid enough to make decent times will require substantial metal work. Not only tying the subframes together but beefing up the front via torque boxes at a minimum. Convertible rails and cross piece are also very much recommended. As far as the floor goes it needs to be solid as well. Then you need at minimum a six point cage. That's a lot of metal work or just the minimum depending how you look at it. Here's the good news. It doesn't have to be pretty. Just solidly done. If you want to run serious times, however, you will likely need to hire out the cage to get it to pass inspection but the rest you can do. Classic metal is cheap. So is your labor.

Personally, I would take the classic path. Really not any more work as either car needs the same amount of chassis construction effort. Being one of 3 million guys racing Foxes would turn me off real quick. Being maybe the ONLY guy running an oldie would make it much more enjoyable. And the crowd will love you for it.

You can sell off that 9" you have for the coin to put together an appropriate 9" for leafs. Bolt on some Caltracs and that's job done.
 
I know a guy that has taken his street car without a cage or significant body mods into the high 9s. That's not to say it's something I would. I agree with Terry about beefing things up though.


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I understand the beefing up part. that doesn't scare me. In fact I have done most of that to my 67. (no cage). The issue I have been running into is cars needing quarter panels, frame rails, roofs, etc and just a lot of "bodywork"
I don't care if the car is not painted but I am tired of bodywork. Welding in subframe connectors or mini tubs, strengthening torque boxes and shock towers is no big deal. And my engine/drive train will probably not get me into the 9's yet! So I won't need a cage right away. I agree I would want to farm that out though as I know they are pretty well inspected and I've not built one before so I'm sure I would not pass inspection.
I just don't want to "restore" a car to go racing.
My few times in the 67 have really given me the bug. I mean I have had it a while. But I have been really resisting the street racing scene which is huge in Bowling Green and I have been invited into the "circle" but I think that is too risky and stupid. So I want a "track car"
I also agree just about every car at the track is a Fox Body even if it's LS powered.
I really would like to just keep building my 67 but having a lot invested already scares the wife too much.
At this point I would be quite happy to just buy a beater car of any kind and just take it to the track.
I really need to work on staging and reaction time. I will probably never be in any "class" and just bracket race. In fact all I have done so far is go a few times to "test and Tune" nights where I'm not really racing anyone but myself.
If I was smart I would have just sold the roof and kept the 65 coupe. It didn't need any bodywork. It would have needed torque boxes and subframe connectors for sure and with my 5.0 projected to make about 350hp that would be enough.
Once I get the driving down, then I think I would be wanting to go faster for sure and then I would build on the car as time and money allowed.
The car, my drag car, doesn't even have to be a car I like or keep. If I get real serious I will want to enjoy the car too but right now I just want to spend as many weekends or week nights at the track.
I could be quite happy with just a dedicated car of just about any kind for a "starter" car. If it turns out to be a car I can grow with that would be great. That's why I tried so many times already with a classic Stang (and Falcon). I love those cars.
I just travel so much, my kids projects have taken off and need my help so I have very little time to restore a car to turn around and go racing with.
I hope all my rambling makes sense
 
I know a guy that has taken his street car without a cage or significant body mods into the high 9s. That's not to say it's something I would. I agree with Terry about beefing things up though.
No doubt it can be done but you can't run it on a track...more than once anyway...once you drop into certain times. Typically, if you get into the 10's you need significant safety improvements (cage) or you are not allowed to race. All depends on the track but the door gets shut if you have a fast car that doesn't meet requirements. The type of set-up Craig is talking about will be fast enough to require such.
 
It depends on what you really want out of it. If you want just the thrill of racing any car can do. For me the challenge of besting my reaction, 60 foot times, etc. was always fun. Of course, I never liked seeing taillights. That's where it get dangerous when you try to be the fastest. $$$

You can surely find an old classic of some kind that doesn't need much bodywork. That's where I think you should concentrate. EVERYBODY has a Fox.
 
I understand the beefing up part. that doesn't scare me. In fact I have done most of that to my 67. (no cage). The issue I have been running into is cars needing quarter panels, frame rails, roofs, etc and just a lot of "bodywork"
I don't care if the car is not painted but I am tired of bodywork. Welding in subframe connectors or mini tubs, strengthening torque boxes and shock towers is no big deal. And my engine/drive train will probably not get me into the 9's yet! So I won't need a cage right away. I agree I would want to farm that out though as I know they are pretty well inspected and I've not built one before so I'm sure I would not pass inspection.
I just don't want to "restore" a car to go racing.
My few times in the 67 have really given me the bug. I mean I have had it a while. But I have been really resisting the street racing scene which is huge in Bowling Green and I have been invited into the "circle" but I think that is too risky and stupid. So I want a "track car"
I also agree just about every car at the track is a Fox Body even if it's LS powered.
I really would like to just keep building my 67 but having a lot invested already scares the wife too much.
At this point I would be quite happy to just buy a beater car of any kind and just take it to the track.
I really need to work on staging and reaction time. I will probably never be in any "class" and just bracket race. In fact all I have done so far is go a few times to "test and Tune" nights where I'm not really racing anyone but myself.
If I was smart I would have just sold the roof and kept the 65 coupe. It didn't need any bodywork. It would have needed torque boxes and subframe connectors for sure and with my 5.0 projected to make about 350hp that would be enough.
Once I get the driving down, then I think I would be wanting to go faster for sure and then I would build on the car as time and money allowed.
The car, my drag car, doesn't even have to be a car I like or keep. If I get real serious I will want to enjoy the car too but right now I just want to spend as many weekends or week nights at the track.
I could be quite happy with just a dedicated car of just about any kind for a "starter" car. If it turns out to be a car I can grow with that would be great. That's why I tried so many times already with a classic Stang (and Falcon). I love those cars.
I just travel so much, my kids projects have taken off and need my help so I have very little time to restore a car to turn around and go racing with.
I hope all my rambling makes sense


You have to have some cage work done a 11.49 and faster.
 
If you just want to go race, buy my car...it's ready. Truck, trailer and car...race ready package and you can say goodbye to that sissy, go in a straight line shit.

:)
 
I know you are aware of Dennis at sbftech. How does he get away with it.


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Well, it depends on the track. I should have clarified, if you're at a NHRA sanctioned track, and they tech properly, you need a cage at 11.49.

I could race with minimal, or no cage at my track too, because I know them, and they know me. My cage isn't even close to NHRA legal for the ET my car runs, but nobody has ever said anything. To be legal, I'd need a halo, and bars down through the dash, which I'm not doing. I attempt to mitigate my own risk, and race in 1/8 mile classes.
 
Pffft on building a track car. Why not just go to the track and ask around? I'm sure a ready-made track car would be available for sale and then you can race, improve your times, etc., without putting in all of the labor to create a track car. You said yourself that you want to enjoy racing at the drag strip...why not make it as simple and quickly as possible to start enjoying that?
 
Pffft on building a track car. Why not just go to the track and ask around? I'm sure a ready-made track car would be available for sale and then you can race, improve your times, etc., without putting in all of the labor to create a track car. You said yourself that you want to enjoy racing at the drag strip...why not make it as simple and quickly as possible to start enjoying that?
I don't have that kind of budget/dollars! I have found affordable Fox body cars that are ready to go but as Terry said everybody has one. I would love to buy {.}'s car but there is no place close to race in circles. Besides if you can turn you are not going fast enough!

I race at Beach Bend and they are pretty lenient on inspecting cars (at least the few test and tune dates I have run). I'm sure at sanctioned events they would be more strict. My 67 only runs 13's though so I don't need a cage in it.
I think a 3,000 lbs car with 350 hp at the flywheel will probably not break 11.49 so I won't need a cage for a while. Even the cars that were in the 11's at the test and tune didn't have a cage so I think I could get away with no cage for a while.
As Terry says, I would eventually get tired of seeing tailights but again if I actually compete it will be in bracket racing so if I am good enough I won't see taillights.
 
My boys and I delivered the 65's to Jeff today. It was about two hour drive one way. It was a chance for me to bounce some ideas around as we drove. So we discussed one option. A while ago I bought two 69's from Bill and made one. (well 3/4). I bought it for my son as a project. But he is busy with college and work and the 99GT that was my wifes. He has big dreams of putting IRS and a 4V 4.6 in it. Anyway, that is way out in the future. So I proposed that I make it into a drag car for now. I already put a Versailles 9" in it and it has factory front disc brakes. The shell is pretty solid. It needs floor pans and a cowl and really could use quarters but doesn't need them for my purpose. I have a full one piece floor pan and brand new sub-frame connectors for it. We could probably get away with just doing the floor and not the cowl (again for my purposes it doesn't NEED a cowl). It's not structurally bad, just leaks. Frame rails, torque boxes, shock towers. wheel tubs, etc are all fine. It will need a drivers side door (bottom is completely gone) and a hood (hinge area is gone). I don't have a few small things like a grille and most of the interior but again don't really need those things. The investment I put in will benefit my son for later and all the drive train will come out and could go in something else later if I still want to race. The car has all the glass and trim and valences, etc. It's pretty complete.
IMG_1540.jpg Rear view.jpg IMG_1539.jpg
 
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